Naperville, IL - Best Places to Live

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54 of 100

54. Naperville, IL

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Top 100 rank: 54
Population: 152,600
Compare Naperville to Top 10 Best Places

Community is king in Naperville, which adds a local 1% tax on food and beverages to fund events and heritage celebrations. Come summer, residents converge on Centennial Beach, a huge quarry purchased by the city during its 1931 centennial celebration, or stroll along the 1.75 miles of brick paths on the DuPage Riverwalk in the heart of town. Top schools and lots of jobs at firms like OfficeMax and Alcatel-Lucent round out this picture of near perfection -- marred only by some congestion on nearby highways and a lengthy commute for those who work in downtown Chicago. --E.R.

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Naperville stats

	Citystats	Bestplacesavg.
Median family income (per year)	$123,511	$96,825
Job growth % (2000-2011)*	16.57%	25.01%
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Median home price	$322,500	$269,768
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Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	45.7%	28.2%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	32.7%	29.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	2³	2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	15³	20
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	4,095	3,134
High temp in July °F	86.4°	86.8°
Low temp in Jan °F	14.2°	18.4°
Median age	34.8	35.2

Financial	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$123,511	$96,825
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$131,815	$93,218
State sales tax	6.25%	5.57%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	5.00%	7.31%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	5.00%	3.08%
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)	$1,290	$1,596
Job growth % (2000-2011)*	16.57%	25.01%
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Housing
Median home price	$322,500	$269,768
Average property taxes (2010)	$7,226	$6,517
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Education
Colleges, universities and professional schools (within 30 miles)	67	8
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	45.7%	28.2%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	32.7%	29.2%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)	93.3/6.7	91.5/8.5
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)	77.0%	77.3%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	2³	2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	15³	20
Median commute time (in minutes)	27.9	22.2
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	29.7%	14.9%
% population walk or bike to work	1.9%	3.2%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters (within 15 miles)	32	33
Restaurants (within 15 miles)	4,095	3,134
Bars (within 15 miles)	270	199
Public golf courses (within 30 miles)	361	169
Libraries (within 15 miles)	86	70
Museums (accredited by AAM; within 30 miles)	16	10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles)	5	6
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)	0.7	1.4
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)	37.8	34.21
% clear days in the area	23	32
High temp in July °F	86.4°	86.8°
Low temp in Jan °F	14.2°	18.4°
Meet the neighbors
Median age	34.8	35.2
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	82.0%	72.6%
Married %	67.1%	57.9%
Divorced %	5.7%	8.0%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)	95.0	118.4

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From the September 2012 issue

Notes: *County data
Due to erroneous job, cost-of-living, and test score stats for a small number of places, this city's rank changed slightly from an earlier version. Details.

Due to an error by our data provider, an earlier version listed incorrect stats for this city's number of colleges.
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2011 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.

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Naperville, IL - Best Places to Live - Money Magazine (2024)

Money's list of America's best small cities